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meditation techniques, whilst Marius Hatch was passing his downtime studying the technical data and specifications of the ship in which they were now travelling.
    Mary and Anne passed out drinks amongst the crew and then retired to the back of the cabin began to become more acquainted with each other. It was the first real chance they had had for any form of social communication and they had both been looking forward to this time.
    They had been en route for approximately two hours when Captain Daniels had decided that it was time for them to get into their sleeping modules. Each of the crew began to busy themselves securing all loose items that were free floating around the cabin. Having done this they proceeded to strip down to their underwear and stow their overalls in their personnel lockers. One by one they harnessed themselves into their modules and closed the glass covers. With the closure of each cover came a hiss as each one was hermetically sealed. As the seventh and final capsule was secured doctor Anne homer opened a small door which was set at the head of her capsule. When it was opened it revealed a small control panel. She then proceeded to activate the system that would flood each module with the odorless gas that would trigger their endorphin release. Within minutes all seven of them were asleep.
    As they slept the onboard computer began to systematically shut down all nonessential functions including life support, these systems would not be needed as each individual capsule housed its own. Finally all lighting was extinguished. Their lives now were dependant on the computer and on ground control. The shuttle was now in almost complete darkness and silent. The only noise that could be heard was the deep quiet rumble of the engines as they continued to power their way towards their destination.
    Somewhere in the history of every civilization, there were documented cases of people who possess certain uncanny abilities, abilities which seem fantastic and implausible, yet however preposterous they appear to be, they were the basis of a technique which had enabled long haul space travel to become reality. During the early days of space travel, the agency had found that although the craft they were using had the speed and capabilities to travel from asteroid to asteroid, the crews were becoming over fatigued by the duration and the conditions of extended space travel. Consequently, upon arrival at a new asteroid, exploratory work that had been planned was being severely hampered, and very basic mistakes were being made due to the emotional and physical state of the crews. To overcome these problems, scientists began looking into all avenues to find a way to induce a prolonged sleep status within a crew member allowing him or her to awaken at their destination refreshed and alert. Their search for the answer had led them to a tribe of people whose ancestry spanned many, many millennia. Their way of life was based solely upon the belief that they and they alone controlled their minds bodies and their destiny. Through the almost total devotion they had towards their lifestyle, they had perfected an art of meditation that had allowed them to develop a technique of self induced coma. The more practiced amongst them could vary the length of their sleep state at will, slowing down all of their metabolic functions to an absolute minimum for survival. Whist in this state other members of the tribe would take their lifeless bodies and lay them upon a ceremonial alter in the middle of the village to await their return to the redivivus or the rebirth. To the scientists this was very impressive, but at the same time it was impractical to expect that any astronaut would be able to master this feat of self control that had took these people many lifetimes to perfect. The real breakthrough had come when the tribal elders had agreed to a small research facility being set up within their village with the express intention of studying